Draft-equalizer.



No. 722,347. PATENTED MAR. 10, 1,903..

P. YEAGERQ DRAFT BQUALIZER.

APPLICATION FILED D150 18, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

- P/cZz v )6 e?" witnesses m: NORRIS PETERS o mowoumm wA nlNuTom n c.

UNrrn STATES PATENT Fries.

PHILIP YEAGER, OF OTTERVILLE, IOWA.

DRAFT-EQUALIZER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 722,347, dated March 10, 1903.

Application filed December 18, 1902. Serial No. 135,771. (No model.)

To all whom, it m/cty concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP YEAGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Otterville, in the county of Buchanan and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft-Equalizers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to draft-equalizers; and it consists of certain novel features of combination and construction of parts, the preferred form or materialization whereof will be hereinafter clearly specified, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of my invention is to provide an evener or draft-equalizer which will be found useful for a great variety of purposes, whereby three or four horses or a larger number thereof may be properly connected to a wagonbinder or the like with the assurance that the draft will be properly distributed among the draft-animals, so that each will be required to perform its part of the work.

A further object of my invention is to dispose the line of draft laterally or to one side of the tongue or the common center of draft of the vehicle or machine, so that there will be no lateral strain placed upon the animals as, for instance, the placing of two animals upon one side of the tongue and one animal upon the other side.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter made clearly apparent, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part of this application, in which- Figure 1 shows a top plan View of an ordinary wagon or reaper tongue with my draftequalizer applied to use thereon. Fig. 2 is a view showing a portion of the evener-tree and its supporting-bracket in section. Fig. 3 is a perspective detail view of the supportingbracket complete shown in Fig. 1.

Numerals will be employed to designate the various details of my invention and cooperating accessories, the same numerals referring to a similar part throughout the several views.

In carrying out my invention I attach to the tongue 1 of the vehicle the anchoring-plate 2, designed to rotatably hold in place the pulley 3, around which extends the anchoring-chain 4, each end of which is connected in any preferred way to the rear end of the clip-sections or clevises 5, carried by each end of the evenertree proper, 6, which latter is provided near its central portion with the bolt 7, designed to pass loosely through the slotted aperture 8, formed in the'extreme outer or free end of the bracket 9, which latter is anchored in position upon the tongue by means of the bolts 10 or the equivalent thereof. The bolt 7 is provided on its lower end with a suitable enlargement or head, by which it will be held against casually slipping out of place. Each end of the bracket 9, it will be observed, is provided with a radiallydisposed slot 11, whereby the bracket may be relatively adjusted with respect to the tongue, so that the slot 8, formed in the outer end of the bracket, may be disposed in a plane trulyparallel with the tongue or at any preferred angle thereto,

the object of which will be hereinafter more clearly set forth.

Each of the clevises 5 extends forward and afiords means to pivotally connect the doubletrees 12 thereto, as by means of the bolt or rod 13, while each of said doubletrees is provided with the singletrees 14, as shown in Fig. 1, and to which the draft-animals may be connected in the usual manner.

By the arrangement herein described it i will be observed that the main office performed by the slotted aperture 8 is to confine the bolt 7 within proper bounds relative to the tongue, though permitting a reasonable play of said bolt and incidentally permitting a similar movement of the tree 6 during the use thereof.

The chain 4, it will be observed, will therefore be left to play freely around the pulley 3, whereby compensation may be thus afforded for the varying position of the draft-animals and at the same time confines the forward and rearward movement of the bolt 7 within the space afforded by the slotted opening 8.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The herein described draft equalizer comprising the combination with the tongue of a vehicle, of a bracket adj nstably secured to said tongue; and having its outer end pro vided with a slot longitudinally disposed with regard to said tongue; a main tree having a bolt extending through said slot, a pulleywheel secured to the tongue in the rear of the bracket; a chain each end of which is connected to said tree and extended around said pulley whereby the bolt of said tree will be permitted to play within said slot during the operation thereof and thereby provide compensation for the movement of the tree relative to the tongue, all combined substantially as specified and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an evener of the character specified, the combination with the tongue or frame of 

